I have in mind building my own electric ATV. I was thinking swapping the engine for a 18kW Cyclone mid drive Motor that comes with a controller that has no regen capability.
To keep things simple and to get reverse I was thinking going direct drive meaning no freewheel on the motor as you would have for an eBike.
My question is what happens to the motor when you are doing let’s say 50mph and you back off the throttle ? I understand that you will get drag from the motor but is it going to overheat or damage the motor if done repeatedly ?

Like a fast golf cart she just slows down. But remember motors are a physical thing and can be warn out by hard usage. They usually can take a good beating, but can snap an axle or overheat or burn a Hall sensor. Run her without too much abuse and she will last a long time.

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